Cartridge feed and orientation system for rapid fire weapon

ABSTRACT

An automatic weapon for use within a turret including means to seal substantially all of the gases generated during use within the weapon to prevent escape into the turret. The gun includes means to feed the cartridges in an orientation perpendicular to the gun barrel thus allowing use of a simple compact feed system, external of the gun, in which changes in gun elevation do not twist the ammunition feed belt and a means for ejecting the spent cartridges forwardly through the armour at the same location through which the barrel protrudes.

United States Patent 1 Jayne et al.

[ CARTRIDGE FEED AND ORIENTATION SYSTEM FOR RAPID FIRE WEAPON [75]Inventors: I aurence I. Jayne, Renton; Roland A. Magnuson, Seattle. bothof Wash [73] Assignee: Pacific Car and Foundry Company,

Bellevue. Wash.

[22] Filed: July 9, i973 [211 App]. No.: 377,323

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation of Scr. No. l85,l39,Sept. 30, l97l,

abandoned.

[52] U.S. CI. 89/33 C; 89/33 CA [5 l] Int. Cl. F4ld 9/02 [58] Field ofSearch 89/33 R, 33 BB, 33 BC, 89/33 C, 33 CA; 42/l6, [7

I 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,357,127 8/1944 North89/33 CA [4 1 Aug. 26, 1975 2,379,185 6/1945 Rcck 89/33 BC 2,383,8308/1945 Trotter et al. 89/33 BC 2,499,271 2/[950 Harvey et al. 89/33 BC2,882,635 4/1959 Hill 42/!7 2,986,074 5/196! Dixon 89/33 C PrimaryExaminer-Stephen C. Bentley Attorney, Agent, or FirmSeed, Berry, Vernon& Baynham [5 7] ABSTRACT An automatic weapon for use within a turretincluding means to seal substantially all of the gases generated duringuse within the weapon to prevent escape into the turret. The gunincludes means to feed the cartridges in an orientation perpendicular tothe gun barrel thus allowing use of a simple compact feed system,external of the gun, in which changes in gun elevation do not twist theammunition feed belt and a means for ejecting the spent cartridgesforwardly through the armour at the same location through which thebarrel protrudes.

4 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures PATENTEU M1525! 3,901,123

FIGOII LAURENCE. I. JAYNE ROLAND A. MAGNUSON I NVENTORS ATTORNEYS FIGOQPATENTED M1525 7%. 9 O1 12 3 i no -1 Q as 92 ,g no '82 LAURENCELJAYNEROLAND A. MAGNUSON INVENTORS FIGO 7 BY @211 W,WG

lI-i I A TTORNEYS PATENTEDAUBZSIHYS 3. 901 1 23 saw 3 BF 5 ROLAND A-MAGNUSON 226 220 INVENTORS IFJIGO 11(0) wy w w ATTORNEYS CARTRIDGE FEEDAND ORIENTATION SYSTEM FOR RAPID FIRE WEAPON This is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 185,139, filed Sept. 30, I971. now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Because of the need for keeping weight at aminimum and since space is at a premium, a rapid fire weapon which ismounted upon a vehicle requires special design considerations. In thepast the rapid fire weapon has been designed and tested in open air usewherein space and venting of resultant gases presented no problem. Whenthe weapon is used in open air the wind takes care of any exhaust gasesand the pivoting of the weapon creates no major problems since theammunition feed may pivot therewith assuring a relatively straightinfecd.

Once the weapon is placed within a turret, however, there must beprovided some means to either eliminate the exhaust gas problem oralternatively to remove it from within the turret. Further, once the gunis mounted within the turret there is not sufficient space to allow theammunition to pivot with the gun. In prior installations elaboratesystems have been developed for feeding ammunition to the weapon forfiring. Normally, the ammunition is fed in a continuous linkage from astorage box which is relatively fixed. These ammunition feed systemshave included elaborate guide means causing the ammunition to enter theweapon at the proper orientation. Traditionally the ammunition is fedfrom the side of the gun with the axis of the shell generally parallelto the axis of the barrel thereby requiring a bulky complicated externalfeed system having a tendency to jam when the gun is fired in anelevated barrel position.

Yet another problem which is inherent in a turret mounting. but presentsno problem when used in open air firing, is the disposition of spentcartridges and/or link members. In the turret mounted weapons currentlyin use there is provided, adjacent the weapon, an opening, which may besealed when not in use. whereby the shells as spent may be ejected. Theproblem with the opening within the side of the turret is firstly. thatit is a weak point within the armour system of the vehicle and secondly,it must be substantially larger than absolutely necessary since theshells as they leave the gun are normally spinning in an end ever endorientation therefore requiring a greater sized opening. Since the gunis designed to move about a central pivot point and the ejection port ofthe gun is not located above the pivot point. the ejection port travelsin a variety of ares thereby ejecting spent cartridges from differentplaces within the turret. The continuous movement of the weaponnecessitates an even larger hole within the armour for the exit of thespent cartridges.

As noted above, the weapons which are used within the turrets arenormally designed and tested in open air firing and then they are simplymounted within a turret and expected to operate. For the most part thishas proved to be satisfactory excepting the discomfort of the weaponoperator and the unreliability because of jamming The times when the gunjams may be critical not only in the terms of the particular encounterbut may be extremely costly in terms of loss of the vehicle or humanlife.

In an effort to obviate the above problems it is an ob ject of thepresent invention to provide an automatic rifle for turret mountingwherein the feed system causes the ammunition to approach the gun fromthe rear thereby saving space and complexity in the exter nal feedsystem and eliminating any jamming problem when the gun is in anelevated position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an automaticweapon wherein the ammunition is fed into the weapon from the rearthereby allowing the weapon to be placed further forward in the turretre sulting in more room inside the turret.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automaticrifle wherein the exhaust gases formed during the firing of the weaponare sealed within the gun itself and vented outside of the turretcausing little or no problems for the operator.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an ejectionsystem which causes the spent cartridges to leave the turret in thedirection of the barrel thereby requiring no weakening of the vehiclesarmour system and not necessitating additional openings.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide anammunition feed system wherein the ammunition approaches the weapon atan orientation perpendicular to the barrel and during the operation ofthe gun is automatically pivoted to the proper orientation for feedingto the chamber for firing.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an ammunitionfeed system wherein the links in the ammunition belt are automaticallystripped from a cartridge as it is moved into the gun and the delinkingmeans likewise serves as a gas sealing element being normally closed.The delinking means is open only when another shell is fed therethrough.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anammunition feed system wherein the transition from one type ofammunition to another is rapid, does not require the wasting of a roundnor does it require the operator to handle a single loose cartridge.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anammunition feed system portion which is removable and yet serves as anintegral element of the weapon when attached, causing the ammunition tobe properly oriented. The removable portion further locks one end of theammunition belt within this section such that the operator need onlyremove the section in use and replace it with another interchangeablesection to change from one type of ammunition to another.

It is still a further object to provide a spent cartridge ejectionsystem wherein the cartridge is automatically moved laterally off theaxis of the barrel during the counter recoil of the rifle and ejectedforwardly parallel to the barrel.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a gunwhich is specifically designed for operation within a confined turretarea eliminating the prob lems normally associated with turretinstallations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showingthe general outline of the inventive weapon mounted in atypical turretgun shield complete with elevation trunnions.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inventive weapon with the top openeddisclosing the relative location of the interior workings.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the detachable ready round holder.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the ready round holder as it would bemounted within the weapon.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ready round holder with portions of theassociated weapon phantomed in for clarity.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the weapon showing the feed systemand the ready round holder in both its in-use and storage position.

FIG. 7 is a sectional elevation showing the other side of the ammunitionfeed system from that shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing the ammunition delinkingand gas sealing gates.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the weapon in full recoil positionwith the portions broken away for clarity illustrating the ammunitionfeeding mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view through the upper portion of the weapondepicting the bolt rotation means.

FIG. 11 is an elevational section depicting the weapon in its firingposition and showing a spent cartridge being ejected.

FIG. 12 is an elevational section through the rear portion of the weapondepicting the recoil compression spring.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the spent cartridge ejection system.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view along lines l414 of FIG. I.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the accelerator mechanism incorporated inthe ejection system.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged section through the ready round mechanism showingthe cartridge retaining means.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view showing the cam mechanism for the ejectingsystem.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view along lines 18l8 of FIG. 12 depicting thebolt fingers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS As can be seen in FIG. I theautomatic weapon comprises a main housing 2 which encapsulates theautomatic feed mechanism, the firing mechanism and the ejectionmechanism. As seen in FIG. 2 the housing 2 has a cover 4 which ishingedly mounted and pivots upwardly for easy access to the mechanismwithin the housing 2. The gun is shown mounted by its mounting interfacein a typical turret gun shield 6. The shield 6 carries trunnions aboutwhich it and the weapon can rotate to elevate the line of fire. Theshield 6 closes the opening through which the weapon must protrude forfiring. Secured to the back of the housing 2 is the ready round holder8, described in greater detail hereinafter, having extending therefrom aplurality of cartridges I0 linked together for automatic feeding to theweapon.

Extending forwardly from the housing 2 is the ejection tube 12, barrelsupport 14 and the barrel 16. The barrel support 14 is fixed to thefront of the housing 2 and includes, as is known in the art, bearingswithin the interior such that the barrel 16 may reciprocate within thesupport 14 during the firing of the weapon.

Referring now to FIG. 2 it can be seen that the gun is designed suchthat the cover 4 of the housing 2 is hinged at I8 such that the gun maybe readily serviced without dismanteling the entire weapon. As can beseen in this view the cover portion 4 of the gun includes a pair of gearracks 20 for the accelerator pinions 22 as described hereinafter.Further included within the cover are a pair of cams 24 which will bedescribed in greater detail with respect to FIG. 9 but function toprovide the initial motion to the accelerator mechanism. Further,mounted within the cover portion 4 is a rod 26 which when the cover isin a closed position form a stop to the forward movement of theupstanding firing pin actuating lever 28 causing the hammer to strikethe firing pin at the end of the counter recoil. The firing mechanismwill be described in greater detail hereinafter.

WEAPON FEED SYSTEM The weapon feed system includes as an essentialelement the detachable ready round holder 40 as shown in isometric viewin FIG. 3. The ready round holder includes a downwardly turned chuteportion 42 adapted to extend rearwardly as seen in FIG. 6 which servesas a guide member for the cartridges l0 linked together as they enterthe ready round holder for eventual firing. The guide chute 42 isrectangular in cross section of a size to accommodate the shells in aparallel orientation and curves to a relatively fiat portion 44 whichextends forwardly sufficiently far that when the ready round holder 40is mounted in the gun it guides the linked cartridges 10 until they arecontrolled by other mecha nisms. The front bottom edge 46 hasrectangular slots 47 cut therein to allow passage of delinking mechanismas described hereinafter. It is to be noted, in this view, that the topportion 48 of the lower forward portion 44 of the guide tube is set backfrom the front edge 46 thus allowing the upward movement of thecartridges 10 when under control of the delinking mechanism. Integrallyconnected to the uppeer forward portion 48 is a fixed pivot 50 which ismounted within a guide and holding housing which includes curved shieldsS2 and 54 for guiding the cartridge 10 when moving from the delinkedposition to the position where it will be rammed into the breech 80. Thetop 53 of the ready round holder 40 and shields 52 and 54 keep thecartridge 10 when being translated from one position to the other undercontrol. The top 53 of the ready round holder 40 has slots 56 which haveupwardly biased resilient fingers 58 such that a cartridge 10 when inthe position to be moved to the breech will be captured between thefingers 58 and the top surface of the receptor trough 72 (FIG. 4) havinga cammed surface and held in position until moved in a forward directionas explained hereinafter.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 it can be seen that the cartridges 10 asfed into the ready round holder 40 come in on the lower level guided bythe forward portion 44 of the chute 42 and then are lifted upwardly bythe delinking mechanism, hereinafter described. to a position as shownin phantom whereat a moving cam 70, described in detail hereinafter,causes the cartridge 10 to pivot about a fixed pivot 50 thus translatingthe axis of the cartridge 10 90 and simultaneously camming it upwardlyon the cam to trough 72 to a position where it is lodged between the topsurface of the receptor trough 72 and resilient fingers 58. Once thecartridge 10 is in the position shown in FIG. 3 it is moved linearly bythe bolt shown in phantom in FIG. 4 and rammed into the breech whereatthe bolt is locked and the shell fired.

The weapon is entirely loaded and fired by use of recoil energy. part ofwhich is stored in a spring as described in greater detail hereinafterwith reference to FIG. 12. As can be seen in FIGS. 6, 7 and 9, the riflebreach 80 is integrally connected to a downwardly projecting side piece84, on the left hand side looking down the barrel of the gun, see FIG.9, and a similar element 86 on If: right hand side. As the gun recoilssince thcst LWLI \ILIL pieces 84, 86 which are fixed to the breech willmove with the barrel in a rearward direc tion and later he returned tothe firing position which is forwardmost thus operating the mechanismhereinafter described. As seen in FIG. 9, the weapon is in full recoilposition and side piece 86 is shown within a slot 88 in a relativelyfixed portion 89 of the weapon and which serves as a guide meansassuring proper linear motion of the side pieces and thus theirinterconnect instrumentalities. Likewise, as seen in FIG. 9, both sidepanels 84 and 86 include a cam. 90 and 92 respectively, the purpose ofwhich will be hereinafter described. Centrally located of FIG. 9 is anupstanding trunnion 94 which is a relatively fixed element secured tothe main gun support 89 and not moved with the recoil of the rifle. Abell crank 96 is pivotally mounted to trun nion 94 and includes a camfollower 98, best seen in FIG. 6, and has the other leg pivotallyattached to a feed platform 100. Secured to the upper surface of feedplatform 100 are a pair of trunnions 102, 104 which are caused to movetherewith. Mounted between the trunnions is a cylindrical shaft 106having mounted at either end thereof delinking levers 108, 110.Delinking levers 108, 110 are rigidly secured to opposite ends ofcylindrical shaft 106 and thus move simultaneously therewith. Delinkinglever 110 extends forwardly, as can be seen in FIG. 7, and has a camfollower 112 at the forwardmost end thereof. Cam follower 112 is adaptedto follow the upper contours of cam 92 as seen in FIG. 7 and thuscausing the delinking lever 110 to pivot about an axis passing throughthe center of hollow shaft 106. When the recoiling parts are moving fromthe firing position, i.e. to the right as seen in FIG. 7, the camfollower 112 will be forced downwardly following surface 113 thuslifting the after end 11 1 thereof forcing a live round up through thedelinking gates 204 as described hereinafter. It will be obvious thatthe actual round handling end 111 of delinking lever 110 will reach itsuppermost position forcing the round through the delinking gate 204 andthen will retract because of spring 122 pushing the cam follower 112 upagainst flat face 116 of the cam 92. During the counter recoil of therifle the cam follower 112 which is spring biased in an axial directionwill contact the tapered lip 118 which will cause the follower 112 toretract and pass behind the downward projection 120 until it againreaches the cam 92 at its forwardmost position as shown in solid whereatthe cam follower 112 will again return to its extended position andunder the control of cam 92. It will be apparent that when follower 112passes behind the portion 120 of cam 92 it will tend to travel in astraight line thus not causing the delinking mechanism to move upwardlywhich would interfere with the operations of the weapon. A platform 121is formed upon an arm 130 to provide a base for the spring 122 which ismounted between platform 121 and top 123 on delinking lever l forces thecam follower 112 in an upward direction. The feed mechanism furtherincludes a rearwardly extending arm 130 which has a cam follower 132which follows the bottom or straight surface of the cam 92 and thus isrestricted to a forward and backward linear motion. As noted above thespring 122 is mounted between the arm [30 and the delinking leverwhereby the two are continuously forced in a diverse position exceptwhen squeezed together by portion of the cam 92.

In summary, driven by the movement of recoil, the projection 120 on thecam will cause the delinking levers 108 and 110 to rotate about the axis106. Their ends 111 reach their upwardmost position pushing a new roundthrough the delinking gates 204 in time for the moving cam 70, FIGS. 4,5 and 6, to rotate the cartridge 90 to the ready position for ramminginto the breech. The delinking levers 108 and 110 are then allowed toreturn to their downward position where they clear the mechanism on thereturn trip. It is to be noted that the forward end of arm of the feedplatform 100 is guided by the groove 88 thereby confining it to theproper linear motion. This arm 130 is supported by the attached camfollower 132 which rolls on the straight cam surface 92, FIG. 7. Thisarrangement allows the relatively high delinking force on the delinkinglever to be reacted by arm 130 and cam follower 132 bcring against theguiding surface 92 of side plate 86. This arrangement keeps stresseslocalized and eliminates deflection of other elements which may causemechanical interference. The outer ends of the two arms 130 areinterconnected by a rod 133. The rod 133 extends outwardly on both sidesof the arms 130 to terminate in flat sided projections 134 which act inconjunction with slots 136 further stablizing the outboard end of thefeed platform.

Upon the upper side of the connecting rod 133 are a pair of trunnions140, see FIG. 9, having mounted therebetween a feed pawl 142 which isintegral with a downwardly projecting handle 146 which is spring biasedoutwardly by spring 148 thus continually urging the pawl 142 in anupward direction for purposes to be hereinafter described.

Again referring to FIG. 9 it can be seen that the relatively fixedportion of the gun which underlies all of the hereinabove describedmechanism is generally a continuous plate with the exception of arectangular opening 182 which is necessary for the operation. It isthrough this opening 182 that the links pass after the round has beenremoved therefrom.

Referring now to FIG. 6 the rear end of the weapon is shown with theready round holder 40 in position for operation. As shown in phantomthere is a round ready for movement into the breech 80, and the gun isshown in a full recoil position. In this position the gun will moveforward under spring pressure as described hereinafter and the bolt 234,shown in phantom, will force the round into the breech 80 whereat itwill be fired. It is to be noted at this point that the ready roundholder 40 is shown in proper position for operation but also included inthis view in phantom are a pair of latch mechanisms whereat the readyround holder 40 could be stored. 40a and 401). By allowing convenientstorage for the ready round holder 40 the operator need only pull outthe ready round holder 40, which is in the gun when the gun is in a fullrecoil position move it either to the upper or lower storage position,i.e. the one which is unoccupied and remove the second type ofammunition from the other storage position and place it in operatingposition. When the ready round holder 40 is in operative position hereleases the bolt 234 and commences firing. The ready round holder 40when in operative position is held from motion relative to the gun bypin 59, FIG. 1, engging the hold 55, FIG. 3. This pin 59 must bedisengaged and handle 146 on the feed pawl 142, FIG. 6, depressed torelease the ready round holder 40 for removal from the gun. When theready round holder 40 is in position, operation of the extensions 130upon the feed platform 100, which as noted above reciprocates in thefore-and-aft direction, continuously feeds the rounds of ammunition tothe proper position for movement upwardly to the loading position bymeans of the delinking levers 108, 110. It is to be noted that thecharging of the weapon is similar to those currently in operation inthat the recoil spring must be compressed but differing therefrom inthat the ready round holder 40 then need only be placed in position andthe weapon is ready for use.

The weapon moves from its forwardmost position to its rearwardmostposition under the force of the recoil after firing and then returns byforce of a spring compressed similarly by the recoil after firing.Because of the bellcrank 96 which operates, as noted before, upon arelatively stationary trunnion 94 the feed platform 100 and thoseautomatically attached thereto are controlled by follower 98 and thecontour of surface 90 in the side piece 84. See FIGS. 6 and 9 which areshown in full recoil position. The surface 90 is profiled so that thereis a dwell period for the feed platform 100 during the first part ofrecoil while delinking, as described previously, is taking place. Theslanted upward portion of surface 90 then forces the follower 98 andbell crank 96 to move the feed platform 100 forward. This forwardmovement of the feed platform 100 causes the feed pawl 142, describedearlier. to move the linked ammunition into the gun one space. The termspace' as used herein refers to moving a cartridge forward one position.On counter recoil the feed platform 100 returns the feed pawl 142 forthe next round. The belt of linked ammunition is prevented from backingup during this return stroke by the upwardly biased pawl 57 which ispivotally mounted to the ready round holder as seen in FIG. I6.

As noted above, once the ready round holder 40 is placed in position thefeed pawl 142 will automatically move the rounds one at a time towardthe dclinking position and the delinking levers I08 and 110 will liftthem through the delinking gates 80 hereinafter described and place themin position for rotation by the moving cam into alignment for ramminginto the breech 80. As can be seen in FIG. 6, when the ready roundholder 40 is placed in position it straddles the gate 204 and when theround is moved from its linked position to its position for rotationwhere-at the axis will be parallel to the gun barrel it passes throughthe opening between delinking gates 204, see FIG. 7.

The opening between gates 204 is sealed during the majority of the timeto retain the gases within the chamber by means of a delinking mechanismwhich is shown in detail in FIG. 8. As can be seen in this figure thedelinking mechanism comprises a pair of slidably mounted gates 204having downwardly depending edges 206. The gates 204 are secured tolinks 208 which are pivotally mounted at 210 and held in a closedposition by tension spring 212. When a round is being forced through thedclinking gate 204 the downwardly depending edges 206 interlock with thelinks 208 spreading them sufficiently far apart that the round can beforced upwardly out of the link 208. As the delinking arms III lift theround upwardly the round contacts the cams II4 (FIG. 6) opening the gateand the round itself earns the gate far enough open such that it maypass thcrethrough. Immediately after the round has passed through thegate 204 they are again returned to their closed position thus trappingany exhaust gas within the weapon itself.

WEAPON LOADING AND SHELL DISCHARGE SYSTEM The mechanism is hereinabovedescribed removes the live ammunition from the link storage system andplaces it in proper position for placement within the firing chamber.The mechanism for moving the shell into the chamber and then removingthe spent cartridge by ejecting it is shown in FIGS. 10 through 13 andFIG. 18. As will be recalled with regard to FIG. 9 a cam 184 is locatedupon the side of the housing 2 and this cam 84 can again be seen in FIG.I0. A complementary cam 185 can be seen on the opposite side of theweapon in FIG. 10. The bolt 234 which, as is known, carries thecartridge I0 to the breech and therefor must move in a linear directionfrom the time it picks up the cartridge 10 until it is locked in place.To assure the abso lute linear movement to prevent jamming during rapidusage the bolt carrier 220 is moved for movement be tween 2. pair ofguides 222, 224 and the bolt 234 is mounted for relative rotationtherein. The bolt 234 is rotated automtically to lock the bolt 234within the breech 80 thus preventing misfiring or rearward movement ofthe bolt 234 during the actual firing. The bolt 234 is rotated by actionof cams 184, 185 and cam followers 228, 230. Cam followers 228, 230 aremounted upon the ends of a bolt rotation element 232 mounted formovement transverse to the direction of the bolt 234 and including uponthe lower portion thereof a series of teeth 234 which interact withteeth 236 upon the bolt. After the bolt has pushed the cartridge 10 intothe breech 80, the two continue to travel together for a short distancebefore reaching firing position. During this time the cams 184, I etc.cause the cam follow ers 228, 230 to move the rotation element 232 thusrotating the bolt 234 and locking the bolt 234 within the breech 80.During recoil the reverse operation takes place and the bolt 234 is thusunlocked and capable of moving in a rearward direction for discharge ofthe spent cartridge.

EJECTOR SYSTEM Referring now to FIG. 13 the ejector system can be seen.Mounted along each side of the barrel I6 and placed to interact with theracks 20 in the cover 4 are a pair of accelerator pinions 22 mounted onthe ends of arms 252 which are pivotably secured to arms 254 which inturn are pivotally secured to the ejector mechanism. At the pivotaljoint between the arms 252, 254 there is an outstanding cam follower 350for inter action with the accelerator cam 24 as shown in FIG. 9. Duringoperation the accelerator pinions 22 and arms 252, 254 move from aflexed position as shown in FIG. I3 to a position whereat the arms 252,254 are .relatively straight. Because of the great forces imposed whenthe weapon recoils, referring now to FIG. I5, which is a view looking infrom the left of FIG. 14, it can be seen, the pinion gears 22 would besubjected to a great deal of strain and either strip the pinion gears 22or the rack gears 20. The accelerator mechanism moves from its positionas shown in solid wherein the gun is ready for firing, i.e. gunforwardmost to position B as shown in phantom wherein the pinion teeth22 first engage the rack teeth and then completely rotating until itreaches the position C at the full recoil position. In order to preventthe great stress upon the teeth 20, 22 the acceleartor cam 24 isintroduced to interact with the cam follower 350. During recoil the camfollower 350 following the cam 24 begins the downward motion of the arm252 thus preventing the excess strain upon the pinion 22. Therearwardmost end of arms 254 is secured to a trunnion 256 which isformed integrally with the bolt carrier 220.

Mounted to the trunnion 256 and extending up wardly and forwardlytherefrom is a pusher member 258 for actually forcing the emptycartridge down the discharge tube 12 as explained hereinafter. Mountedfor rotaty motion and extending through the trunnion 256 in a directiongenerally parallel to the axis of the barrel is a rod 260 having on itsrcarwardmost end an arm and cam follower 262 and at its forwardmost endthe cartridge grasping elements. Cam follower 262 is mounted to interactwith cam 270 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 17 such that during the recoil ofthe weapon the cartridge grasping elements are caused to rotatedownwardly to grasp the shell and during counter recoil upwardly toplace the cartridge in front of the follower r pusher 258. The cartridgegrasping elements as best seen in FIGS. and 13 comprise a pair ofopposed jaw members 280, 282. 280 is journaled to the rod 260 withfreedom to rotate, but only when acted upon by sufficient force to overcome the drag of frictional spring brake 284 pressing against the nonrotating support housing 261. it is to be noted that the jaw element 280has an outwardly extending integral element 286 which surrounds the jaw282 which is movable between pins 288, 290. Movable jaw 282 is connectedeccentrically to shaft 260 by a pin joint and arm 262. It can now beseen that when shaft 260 rotates clockwise as seen in FIG. 13, arm 262pullsjaw 282 downwards until it grips a cartridge or until pin 288contacts 280 if no cartridge is present. The amount of pressure exertedby the jaw is controlled by the amount of drag of spring brake 284. Acounter clockwise rotation of shaft 260 causes jaw 282 to move outwardlyfrom jaw 280 until stopped by pin 290 thus releasing or opening thegrip. The jaws are rotated as a unit in either direction by thecontinued rotation of shaft 260 after the initial lost motion whichcauses gripping or releasing It so happens in operation that when thejaws rotate downward towards the empty extracted cartridge the jaws openup. When they start back up at the start of counter recoil, they gripand raise the empty cartridge and when the cam follower 262 contacts theinclined surface 270, FIG. 17, they release ity The latter occurs at theinstant the bolt 234 and attached jaws carrying the empty case obtaintheir greatest forward velocity. The momentum of the released cartridgecase carries it forward and out of the discharge tube 12. Pusher member258 helps to make this operation positive by providing impetus if theempty cartridge slips in the jaws. in operation, at the beginning of therecoil the bolt 234 is unlocked and then the accelerator arms 252. 254are put into motion causing the bolt 234 as well as the rest of theattached ejection mechanism to move rearwardly at a more rapid rate thanthe rest of the recoiling parts. The empty case is thereby extractedfrom the chamber by extracting finger 351 which is attached to the bolt234, FIG. 18.2Extracting finger 351 is spring biased in such a way thatit can spring outwardly to snap over the rim of a cartridge that ischambered and also to push the extracted cartridge laterally as it pullsit from the chamber. This causes the opposite side of the cartridge rimto be caught under and stabilized by a second finger 252 projecting fromand rigidly connected to the bolt 234. The cartridge case is thus heldby its rim in two opposing fingers 351, 352 that are oriented in such amanner as to allow the spent cartridge to be slid out later ally by thejaws 280 and 282, FIG. 13.

ENERGY CONSERVATION SYSTEM Referring again to FIGS. 12 and 13, therecoil of the weapon causes the compression of a pair of springs 300located in bores in arms 222, 224. As the weapon recoils it moves to theposition shown in phantom in FIG. 12 and would be latched by interactionof the downwardly depending ledge 302 interacting with the latch 304.Latch 304 is urged upwardly to its latch position by spring 306 actingupon tab 308. For completely automatic operation, latch 304 will be heldinactive and allow the weapon to automatically recycle.

SUMMARY As can thus be seen the hereinabove described weapon willprevent gases from escaping into the turret, feeds in cartridgesperpendicular to the gun barrel to allow the use ofa simple, compactfeet system, external of the gun, that does not twist the linkedammunition belt when firing at different elevations. and further, willdischarge the empty shells forward through the same opening in theturret armour through which the barrel protrudes.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An ammunition feed system for an automatic weapon operated solely byfiring of the weapon, the feed system designed to feed link beltammunition from a remote supply to the rear of the weapon with the axesof the cartridges engaging by hole link belt perpendicular to thedirection in which the cartridge enters the breech port of the weapon,comprising:

a detachable, ready round holder mounted adjacent the feed end of thebreech port of the automatic weapon receiving the link belt ammunitionfrom a remote supply with the longitudinal axes of the car tridges heldby the link belt perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the breechport and barrel of the weapon, the ready round holder including: l afirst portion to receive a sequence of linked to gether cartridges, (2)a second portion adjacent the first portion receiving single cartridges.one at a time, as they are stripped from the link belt, and (3) a fixedpivot adjacent the first and second portions,

means moving the leading cartridge held in the ready round holder fromthe first portion to the second portion without substantial rotationabout its longitudinal axis,

means stripping the lead cartridge from the link belt during movementfrom the first portion to the second portion, and

means actuated by recoil of the weapon contacting the cartridge androtating it about the fixed pivot to a position substantially parallelwith the breech port of the weapon for movement into the breech.

2. The ammunition feed system of claim 1 wherein the means moving thecartridge from the first portion to the second portion comprises a pairof pivoted arms actuated by recoil of the weapon contacting the leadingcartridge and, on recoil, moving the cartridge.

3. The feed system of claim 2 including a pawl moved by recoil of theweapon interacting with the link belt to move the linked cartridges oneat a time into lead position for movement to the second portion.

the bolt of the weapon into the breech.

1. An ammunition feed system for an automatic weapon operated solely byfiring of the weapon, the feed system designed to feed link beltammunition from a remote supply to the rear of the weapon with the axesof the cartridges engaging by hole link belt perpendicular to thedirection in which the cartridge enters the breech port of the weapon,comprising: a detachable, ready round holder mounted adjacent the feedend of the breech port of the automatic weapon receiving the link beltammunition from a remote supply with the longitudinal axes of thecartridges held by the link belt perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof the breech port and barrel of the weapon, the ready round holderincluding: (1) a first portion to receive a sequence of linked togethercartridges, (2) a second portion adjacent the first portion receivingsingle cartridges, one at a time, as they are stripped from the linkbelt, and (3) a fixed pivot adjacent the first and second portions,means moving the leading cartridge held in the ready round holder fromthe first portion to the second portion without substantial rotationabout its longitudinal axis, means stripping the lead cartridge from thelink belt during movement from the first portion to the second portion,and means actuated by recoil of the weapon contacting the cartridge androtating it about the fixed pivot to a position substantially parallelwith the breech port of the weapon for movement into the breech.
 2. Theammunition feed system of claim 1 wherein the means moving the cartridgefrom the first portion to the second portion comprises a pair of pivotedarms actuated by recoil of the weapon contacting the leading cartridgeand, on recoil, moving the cartridge.
 3. The feed system of claim 2including a pawl moved by recoil of the weapon interacting with the linkbelt to move the linked cartridges one at a time into lead position formovement to the second portion.
 4. The ammunition feed system of claim 1wherein the ready round holder includes an inclined camming surfaceadjacent the cartridge After movement to the second portion, thecartridge moved along the camming surface by the means rotating thecartridge about the fixed pivot into position for insertion into thebreech, and resilient fingers mounted on the ready holder for contactingthe cartridge in position for insertion into the breech to hold thecartridge until rammed by the bolt of the weapon into the breech.